1879

Today in History 12/31/16

Today in History
(1857) Britain’s Queen Victoria makes Ottawa the capital of Canada
Houses of Parliament, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Ottawa became the seat of Canada's parliament when Confederation created the Dominion of Canada in 1867. Centre Block, the building that houses the Parliament was built in Gothic Revival style in the 1860s and rebuilt between 1916 and 1927 after it was badly damaged by fire. Stereoscopic card detail. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)
Queen Victoria follows the advice of her advisors and selects a lumber town, called Bytown, to be Canada’s capital. She chooses the outpost that will become Ottawa because its backcountry location will make it easier to defend against an American invasion and because it stands midway between Toronto and Quebec.

Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It stands on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of southern Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec; the two form the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area and the National Capital Region. The 2011 census reported a population of 883,391, making it the fourth-largest city in Canada; and 1,236,324 within the CMA, making it the fourth-largest CMA in Canada. The City of Ottawa reported that the city had an estimated population of 960,754 as of December 2015.

Website: www.ottawa.ca
Population: 883,391 (2011)
Area: 1,073 sq miles (2,778 km²)
Travel tip: Ottawa is a compact, clean, cleverly planned centre of culture and politics. And it’s an ideal choice for a weekend getaway. Start downtown at the architecturally stunning National … @tripadvisor
Colleges and universities: University of Ottawa · Carleton University · Algonquin College · La Cité collégiale · Saint Paul University · Dominican University College · Augustine College

— Source: wiki/Ottawa
(1879) Thomas Edison lights a street with his incandescent bulbs
A model of an 1879 street light burns in the Edison Museum in Edison, N.J., in front of a portrait of inventor Thomas A. Edison Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007. The curator of the museum that celebrates Edison's role in perfecting the light bulb in the late 19th century is aware of a California legislator's recent attempt to ban it in favor of a more-efficient fluorescent variety. But Jack Stanley says the benefits of incandescent light far out weigh the drawbacks. (AP Photo/Mike Derer)
On New Year’s Eve, American inventor Thomas Edison demonstrates his incandescent light bulbs in Menlo Park, New Jersey, by lighting a street in front of about 3,000 spectators. Edison isn’t the first to design such a light bulb, though his is the first to burn steadily for hours.

Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman, who has been described as America’s greatest inventor. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Dubbed “The Wizard of Menlo Park”, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large-scale teamwork to the process of invention, and because of that, he is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.

Lived: Feb 11, 1847 – Oct 18, 1931 (age 84)
Height: 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
Spouse: Mina Miller (m. 1886 – 1931) · Mary Stilwell (m. 1871 – 1884)
Founded: General Electric · Edison Illuminating Company · Motion Picture Patents Company · Edison Studios · Edison Records · Edison Portland Cement Company · Edison Ore-Milling Company
Inventions: Incandescent light bulb · Phonograph · Movie camera · Carbon microphone · Quadruplex telegraph · Electric power distribution · Phonograph cylinder · Mimeograph
Education: Cooper Union (1875 – 1879)

Highlights

  • 1878: In 1878, Edison formed the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City with several financiers, including J. P. Morgan, Spencer Trask, and the members of the Vanderbilt family.

  • 1884: Lewis Latimer joined the Edison Electric Light Company in 1884.

  • 1884: Nikola Tesla – electrical engineer and inventor, worked at the Edison Machine Works in 1884

  • 1886: On February 24, 1886, at the age of thirty-nine, Edison married the 20-year-old Mina Miller (1865–1947) in Akron, Ohio.

  • 1887: Kunihiko Iwadare – joined Edison Machine Works in 1887

  • 1892: After protracted patent litigation, in 1892 a federal court ruled that Edison and not Emile Berliner was the inventor of the carbon microphone.

— Source: wiki/Thomas_Edison
(1946) US President Truman officially ends hostilities in World War II
CANADA - NOVEMBER 01: Harry S Truman (Photo by Toronto Star Archives/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Truman signs the Presidential Proclamation 2714 to officially cease all hostilities in World War II, more than a year after combat ended in Europe and the Pacific. But the state of war against Germany and Japan will continue until 1951 so that Allies can keep troops in these countries.

Presidential Proclamation 2714 was signed by President Harry S. Truman on December 31, 1946, to officially declare the cessation of all hostilities in World War II. Even though the actual combat of the war ended May 8, 1945, in Europe and September 2, 1945, in the Pacific, the state of war was not lifted off of Japan and Germany in order to give a reason for the necessity of occupation troops in these countries. Once the War Crimes Trials were over, the hostilities were seen as over. The signing of Proclamation 2714 is the reason why the U.S. recognizes its World War II veterans as anyone who has served between the dates of December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946.

— Source: wiki/Proclamation_2714
(1985) Singer Ricky Nelson dies in plane crash
Firefighters and law officials stand near the wreckage of singer Ricky Nelson's plane near DeKalb, Texas on Jan. 1, 1986. Nelson and six members of his band were killed when the plane caught fire and crashed Tuesday afternoon on Dec. 31, 1985. The pilot and co-pilot are listed in critical condition in a Texarkana, Arkansas hospital. (AP Photo/Lyle McBride)
Traveling to Dallas, Texas, to perform in New Year’s Eve concert, the 45-year-old singer, actor, ex-teen idol, and son of Ozzie and Harriet, is on a chartered DC-3 when the cockpit fills with smoke. All seven passengers will die in the emergency landing, though the pilots will survive.

Ricky Nelson was an American actor, musician and singer-songwriter. He starred alongside his family in the television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet as well as co-starring alongside John Wayne and Dean Martin in Howard Hawks’s western feature film Rio Bravo. He placed 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973 including “Poor Little Fool”, which holds the distinction of being the first #1 song on Billboard magazine’s then-newly created Hot 100 chart. He recorded 19 additional Top 10 hits and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987. In 1996, he was ranked #49 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

Lived: May 08, 1940 – Dec 31, 1985 (age 45)
Height: 5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
Spouse: Kristin Nelson (m. 1963 – 1982)
Partner: Helen Blair (1982 – 1985)
Children: Tracy Nelson (Daughter) · Gunnar Nelson (Son) · Matthew Nelson (Son) · Sam Nelson (Son) · Eric Jude Crewe (Son)
Siblings: David Nelson (Brother)

— Source: wiki/Ricky_Nelson
— IMDB: www.imdb.com/name/nm0625699/
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